'Hey pardner, how d'ya like my duds?'

Allen Cameron, Postmedia News11.20.2012

Calgary Stampeders' Obby Khan speaks to media after arriving in Toronto for the 100 annual Grey Cup with his team on Tuesday November 20, 2012. The 100th Grey Cup will be Toronto versus Calgary on Sunday at the Rogers Centre, the Argonauts' home field.

TORONTO -- To Calgary Stampeders offensive lineman Obby Khan, it was a no-brainer.

At the final team meeting Monday before Tuesday's flight to Toronto for the 100th Grey Cup, Stamps head coach and general manager John Hufnagel gave his troops two wardrobe choices for travel day.

"He said either westernwear or suit and tie," chortled Khan early Tuesday evening in the lower lobby of the downtown InterContinental Hotel. "It's no fun being in a suit and tie. Everyone wears a suit and tie. Not everyone's a cowboy, so we thought we'd represent today."

That they did.

While most of their teammates were looking more suited for Bay Street than Ranchman's, Stampeder offensive linemen, along with safety Eric Fraser, were decked out in western gear after a Monday afternoon trip to a pair of Lammle's locations -- "We're not easy to fit," said Khan. "Surprisingly, size 13 python boots are hard to come by." -- where they dropped a good chunk of their game cheques from playing (and winning) the West Division final in Vancouver a day earlier.

How much did they spend?

"Lots," said Khan. "Let's just say they probably met their monthly sales quota in that one day by dressing all of us. But it was well worth it and it's going to be fun wearing this around town and representing Calgary.

"I walked in there (to the Lammle's store) and I looked like a bull in a china shop. I had no idea what was going on. This outfit was all picked by the ladies there. Thank you very much, ladies."

Certainly the outfits caught the attention of the gathered media who showed up to chronicle the Stamps' arrival -- the team will hold its first practice of Grey Cup week behind closed doors Wednesday -- and right guard Dimitri Tsoumpas was taking credit for the idea.

"Mastermind, right? I guess everyone's calling me cerebral now," said Tsoumpas with a grin. "That's the word on the street. Hey, we're football players here, so it's not too often that you hear that."

Not everybody was down with the wardrobe choices, however.

"Terrible," muttered middle linebacker Juwan Simpson. "You have all the guys looking spiffy, like me, with nice designer seats. And you have those guys wearing those tight jeans and cowboy hats."

But at least some of them got it right, said Simpson.

"I think (centre) Jon Gott looked the best; he looked like a higher-end type of cowboy. The one who calls the shot," he said. "And Tsoumpas has the best boots. Those were real nice."

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